UFC 306 (Noche UFC) proved one thing – Sean O’Malley struggles against high-level grapplers. Merab Dvalishvili pretty much did what he wanted from the first to the fourth round. There were no mad scrambles or outstanding takedown defense at play. The title loss also hampered the hopes of O’Malley to rise to the level of Conor McGregor. However, it was not the only thing that got hampered.
Being the top superstar is not the only thing O’Malley is concerned about. He wants to surpass his hero, Conor McGregor, everywhere. This includes getting a win over the Russian rivals. McGregor lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Although ‘Suga’ cannot fight Khabib, he has an undefeated cousin in the same division. At one point or the other, Umar Nurmagomedov and O’Malley might clash against one another.
The fight can still happen despite O’Malley losing the bantamweight title at UFC 306. However, that is not the pressing matter. The performance of Suga left much to be desired. What would happen if O’Malley fought Team Khabib’s Umar Nurmagomedov now? The answer is not so difficult as the fight would play out exactly as ‘Suga’ vs. ‘Machine’ at UFC 306.
Irish vs. Dagestan is important to Sean O’Malley and Conor McGregor
The Irish and the Russians have a complicated relationship in the UFC. More specifically, the ones with Irish ancestry and the Dagestanis in Russia. McGregor and Khabib did not have a rematch. As such, the score is 1-0 in favor of Dagestan. O’Malley has a strained relationship with McGregor now. As such, he had plans to make his ‘hero’ jealous by accomplishing one important task.
Sean O’Malley and Conor McGregor have the same wish (Image via Instagram)A victory over Umar Nurmagomedov would instantly make Sean O’Malley a legend. The Dagestani fighters are well-regarded. As such, a win would give ‘Suga’ one thing ‘Notorious’ always wanted – A win over Team Khabib. It would have given him bragging rights over McGregor. It will also give O’Malley an edge over McGregor in terms of overall record and accolades.
UFC 306 showed how Sean O’Malley vs. Umar Nurmagomedov would play out
During his rise, the takedown defense of Sean O’Malley remained on everyone’s mind. It was very poor against a striker like Petr Yan. Surprisingly, it stood well against Aljamain Sterling. Later, the truth came to light that Sterling was injured heading into UFC 292. Moreover, the UFC coerced Sterling into taking the bout sooner than he wanted. A compromised Sterling suffered and became a lucky opponent for ‘Suga.’
The outcome of Sterling fight would have changed if the ‘Funk Master’ fought at 100 percent. However, it gave a notion of O’Malley having great takedown defense. In fact, Suga and his coach, Tim Welch, trolled Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo for getting taken down by Merab Dvalishvili. Everyone felt O’Malley had the required defense to stuff any takedowns. It was further from the truth.
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley (Image via UFC/X)Merab Dvalishvili took Suga down six times from 15 attempts. The takedown defense is above 50 percent, but O’Malley could not bring the fight back onto the feet. On the ground, he was pretty much helpless and struggled to get the Georgian fighter off of him. He displayed no technique nor scrambled to counter the situation. These are two important techniques for countering MMA grappling experts.
Dvalishvili does not pose any submission threat. He is not that experienced in that area. At least, that’s what his records say. However, Umar Nurmagomedov is a different story. He has seven career submission wins in his career. As such, there is more than a definite possibility of Suga vs. ‘Young Eagle’ ending like Khabib vs. McGregor. Thereby, it puts O’Malley’s desire to one-up his once ‘hero and idol’, Conor McGregor, in big jeopardy.
Can Suga upset the odds and defeat Umar Nurmagomedov?
Everybody has a puncher’s chance in any fight. Despite performing poorly at UFC 306, O’Malley could improve. Nevertheless, there is a possibility of Suga upsetting Umar Nurmagomedov. The potential fight should play out exactly as what happened between Umar and Cory Sandhagen.
Umar stayed on his feet and engaged with Sandhagen rather than shooting for a takedown. It is worth noting that, going by history, Sandhagen has better takedown defense than O’Malley.
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sean O’Malley (Image via Open Source/Imago)Dvalishvili needed takedowns to defeat O’Malley. However, Umar believes in his diverse skill set to compete with Suga on the feet. It would give O’Malley more of a chance to set up his combinations, use his footwork, and hurt the ‘Young Eagle.’ This is the only possible way he could win. The chances will increase further if O’Malley can improve his grappling defense massively. Until then, it is slim.
